Sebastian Lang-Lessing will finish up a successful, admired (if sometimes difficult) ten-year tenure at the end of next season. But he says he means to stay involved with the orchestra in his emeritus position — and he’s backing it up with a $100,000 challenge grant. – The Rivard Report (San Antonio)
Tag: 03.26.19
Court Throws Out All But One Of James Levine’s Defamation Claims Against Met Opera
“The ruling came just over a year after the Met fired Mr. Levine, who had been its music director for four decades and who had recently assumed an emeritus position … Mr. Levine, who has denied any wrongdoing, sued the Met for breach of contract and defamation; the Met countersued him, accusing Mr. Levine of decades of misconduct.” – The New York Times
MoMA Settles Lawsuit By Curator Claiming Job Offer Was Rescinded When She Had Baby
“A curator who accused MoMA PS 1 of gender, pregnancy and caregiver discrimination has settled the claim she brought against the museum saying it had rescinded a job offer upon learning she had recently given birth. Nikki Columbus, who is also an art editor, filed the claim in July 2018 with the New York City Commission on Human Rights.” – The New York Times
Prosecutors Drop All Charges Against Jussie Smollett In Attack Hoax Case
“Infuriating Chicago’s mayor and police chief, prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against Jussie Smollett on Tuesday after the Empire actor accused of faking a racist, anti-gay attack on himself agreed to let the city keep his $10,000 in bail. But he maintained his innocence and insisted he was attacked.” – AP
Britain’s Largest Bookstore Chain Says It Can’t Afford To Pay A Living Wage
More than 6,000 staffers at Waterstones have signed a petition for the chain’s in-store staff to be paid a starting wage of £9 per hour (£10.55 in metro London), and 1,340 authors have signed a petition in support. Though the chain returned to profitability two years ago, its managing director says it can’t pay that much: “There’s a long gap between wanting to do something and it being remotely sensible.” – The Guardian
Sports Coaches’ New Problem: Their Players Are Obsessed With “Fortnite”
“It was something that players were talking about during warmups or while they were dressing in the locker room rather than focusing on the actual hockey game that we were getting ready to play. Part of the issue was just the inability to put it aside. I did even on occasion hear the odd reference on the bench in the middle of the game.” – CBC
Culture Shift: How Women Conductors Are Changing Orchestras
In a world that expects hierarchy and venerates individual genius, some musicians prefer to see their conductor not as a collaborator, but as a dominant, almost dictatorial leader. Many male conductors have been not only famous for their musical prowess, but infamous for their unflinching ways and bad tempers. A sexist double standard makes such shows of “temperament” taboo for women. – New York Review of Books
On the Horizon
Earlier this month I highlighted three factors fueling a growing international interest in community engagement and the arts: economics, demographics, and funders’ demands for much broader community impact than is typical with Eurocentric arts organizations. It seems like a little expansion on these existential threats to the status quo might be in order. – Doug Borwick
Andy Martin Flies High
The jazz bands of the United States military services have long histories of impressive achievement. Let’s see and hear the veteran Los Angeles trombonist Andy Martin with the US Air Force’s Airmen Of Note in a 2012 concert in Washington, DC. – Doug Ramsey
How A Medieval Costume Show Became 2018’s Most-Attended Exhibition Worldwide
The show appealed to such a wide audience “because it put fashion in the context of the Medieval sculpture hall, and juxtaposed art with architecture to create an experience that was like a pilgrimage”, says Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Costume Institute, who organised the show. “It was very much an experiential moment for people, with the fashion and art mixing together in a procession-like way.” – The Art Newspaper